Fountain of Youth
by Paige42
Summary: A maniac is running through Chicago killing college girls. The Shop Crew is hot on the trail. But when Johnny is hurt, will he realize that age isn't everything? Takes place after the Fri13th: The Series story "A Life In Reverse".


TITLE: A Fountain of Youth 1/?  
  
AUTHORS: Sam (Lestrade221aol.com)  
  
RATING: R  
  
FEEDBACK: Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've written anything?! Please show some love so I see I haven't lost my touch.  
  
DISCLAIMER: All established characters (Micki, Ryan, Jack, Johnny, Lewis etc....) belong to Frank Mancuso, Jr. Kate Brannigan is a creation of Karen. Don't bother suing, I'm broke.  
  
EXPLANATION: Objects bad, shop crew good.  
  
TIMELINE: After the story "A Life In Reverse".  
  
Dedicated to the many kind readers and reviewers on FanFiction.Net. You guys are the best fans a hack writer who can't get a job writing could ever have :-)  
  
The young woman ran with all her might down the dark alley. Sweat dripped into her eyes, her throat clenched as she tried to swallow. She threw out her hand to grab the corner of the wall, hoping her momentum would swing her around the corner faster. As she released the brick, she glanced quickly behind her. No one there. Maybe she had lost them. The tip of her shoe caught a rut in the concrete and she flew forward, hitting the asphalt with a thud. She quickly rolled on her side, still fearing her pursuer. No one there... again. She sighed and raised her shaking hands. A few scraps, nothing serious. She gently made her way to her feet, her legs barely cooperating due to the recent strain. She turned.   
  
"That wasn't nice," said a dark figure in front of her.  
  
Before she had a chance to scream, a hand had closed around her throat and was backing her against the wall.  
  
The figure pulled out a long thin blade and held it to her throat. "You should last me a long time." With a quick motion, the blade sliced across the girl's throat. Her eyes bulged for a second, a strangled croak escaping her lips. The hand let her go, her body connecting to the ground with a sickening thump. The figure leaned down and wiped the blade off on the girl's skirt. It reached around it's neck and pulled out a small sliver chain with a vial attached to the end. Pulling out the stopper, the figure held it over the lifeless body. The blood that had pooled around the girl's head slowly started to lift off of the ground and into the vial. After a few minutes, the figure replaced the stopper and quietly walked away.   
  
A small gray cat jumped on top of a trash can and took stock of it's new home; seven trash cans, a hand full of mice and one desiccated corpse.  
  
Johnny Ventura ran the comb through his hair and sighed. Another gray one had come in during the night. He wondered if it was better that they were scattered throughout his head or would it be better if it came together in a patch. Flattening the gray to his scalp, he nodded. Scattered is better. Easier to play it off as 'just a stray'.  
  
"You know," said a young voice behind him, "if you pull them out, three more will take it's place."  
  
Johnny spun around quickly. Ryan Dallion was leaning against the wall, smirking. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"The gray. Old wives tale. If you pull it out, like this..." Ryan yanked a hair out of Johnny's head.  
  
"Ow!" He rubbed the spot where Ryan had pulled it from.  
  
"Then tomorrow three more will be there. You should just leave them there. It show's you're..."  
  
"Don't push it."  
  
"Distinguished was what I was going to say."  
  
"Yeah right." Johnny grabbed the car keys off his dresser. "You know we're almost the same age."  
  
"Mentally yes. Physically though, you've got ten years on me."  
  
"Yeah, well one of these days your body's going to notice the difference and it's all going to catch up to each other." Johnny started downstairs, leaving Ryan staring after him.  
  
"God, I hope not."  
  
Jack scanned through the newspaper. The headline screamed 'Campus Killer?'.   
  
Micki tossed another newspaper aside and turned to the computer. "Nothing different today. You?"  
  
Jack shook his head. "No. The same as the last three. Young women, all students on the Barberry campus all found with their throats slashed and the bodies desiccated, near mummification."  
  
Ryan came down the steps right behind Johnny. "And it would figure that's where Kate's going for night classes."  
  
"But she's meeting me in a well lit area with a couple of the dorm kids. They've been told to walk in groups and the campus staff is adding more security guards." He shook his keys. "Be back in twenty."  
  
Ryan grabbed a nearby newspaper. "So are we thinking object here or just nut job?"  
  
Jack removed his glasses. "Not every crime in this city is done with the help of a cursed object, Ryan. Unfortunatly there are people out there perfectly capable of dreaming up these demented schemes on the own without the help of outside forces."  
  
Micki blinked. "Is that supposed to make us feel better or worse?"  
  
Jack half smiled. "In this case, take your pick. Either way, it's not a comforting thought."  
  
Ryan sighed. "We can always thank you for the shiny thoughts, Jack."  
  
Johnny pulled up to the main entrance of the building and threw the car into park. The area was bright with new bulbs and all of the classrooms windows were open. A small group of people exited the building, Kate among them. Johnny smiled and exited the car. Kate had decided to take a business class and a course on antiques ever since getting the inheritance from her parents and opening the adjoining shop next door to Curious Goods. The group of kids, mostly girls fawning over one particularly large guy, made their way to the car.  
  
"So," Kate said, "we'll work on the small business model early next week for the final." She turned and smiled. "Hey babe," she said to Johnny.  
  
The big man in the group snickered. "Hey look girls, Brannigan's dad came to pick her up."  
  
Johnny's shoulder fell just slightly, but Kate saw it. She turned back to the group, eyes blazing. "You have something to say, Chris?" She started to walk towards him. "I think maybe your jealous." She looked down at his waistline. "Maybe somebody doesn't measure up?" She smiled. "Or maybe it's just that he's getting some and your not." Before he could come up with a response, Kate turned to get in the car.  
  
Johnny was at her shoulder. "Kate, we haven't... you know..." He moved closer to her ear. "Slept together yet."  
  
"Yeah, but he doesn't know that."  
  
Johnny chewed on his lip as he drove, silence beating in his ear drums.   
  
Kate stared at a class paper in her lap. "Pull over."  
  
Shocked from his silent trance, Johnny shook his head. "Huh?"  
  
"Stop the car."  
  
Looking behind him, Johnny pulled to a halt.  
  
Kate turned to him, her face absent of it's normal mischief and humor. "You're not going to let him get to you, are you?"  
  
Johnny said nothing, just stared out the windshield.  
  
Kate laughed. "Johnny, a bunch of numbers on a calendar don't matter to me. You matter to me. I don't believe you going to let a prick like Chris get to you. He's just pissed cause he asked me out and I turned him down. God, we talked about this!"  
  
Johnny turned to her. "No Kate, you talked about this. I didn't. You have no idea what it's like walking down the street and know that people are laughing at you because of who you're with. Hell, I used to do it! You'd see this drop dead beautiful twenty year old draped on the arm of this..."  
  
"Old guy." Kate sighed. "You can't be serious. Ryan's the same age as you and he's my best friend!"  
  
"But he doesn't look it," he yelled. "God Kate, look at me! I'm going gray, I've got aches and pains in places I didn't know existed, I can barely run up the stairs without getting winded..."  
  
"That doesn't matter to me," she stared at him, "I didn't think it mattered to you either."  
  
"Well," he paused and looked away, "I guess we were both wrong." After a moment, he continued. "Look, maybe we should..."  
  
"I don't believe this," Kate whispered, "you're breaking up with me because you found a few gray hairs in your comb this morning." She inhaled deeply and then let it go. "Fine. If it's what you want."  
  
"Kate..."  
  
"Let's just go home."  
  
Silently, Johnny threw the car into drive.  
  
Ryan raised his head as the shop's main door opened. "Jack, they're back."  
  
"Ah good! Anything different on campus, Kate?"  
  
"Not much, really." She took a small envelope from her book bag. "No details in the campus newsletter, just the usual do's and don't list. I took a few pictures of the alleyways where they were all found. Campus security won't say much, but I have a classmate who's brother is a cop. He said that the cause of death is exsanguenation. All of the girls had their throats slit by a very sharp, very thin blade. Then that's when they all toss up their hands for a group 'Search me'. None of them can figure out why the bodies are so badly decomposed. Most of them had been dead less than twenty-four hours before they were found and nothing was found on the bodies themselves to contribute to it. When they brought in the first girl, the coroner thought that the interns were playing a joke on him; had one of the Anthropology students bring in one the museum mummies."  
  
Ryan sighed. "This is beginning to sound like cursed object territory."  
  
"Agreed," Jack said. He pulled out the manifest and slowly made his way through.  
  
Kate gathered up her books. "I'll start checking the database."  
  
Johnny turned. "Need a hand?"  
  
Kate kept walking into the adjoining shop. "No."  
  
Ryan and Micki exchanged a silent look, then Micki stood. "I'm going to start some coffee."  
  
"I got the old press books."  
  
Johnny looked around silently. "I'll go... find something useful to do." He turned up the stairs.  
  
endpart1 


End file.
